On April 13, 2009, Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants to help the Los Angeles Dodgers cruise to an 11-1 win in the opener at Dodger Stadium.
While it was the first time that season the Dodgers played at Chavez Ravine, they entered 4-3 after opening the campaign with road series against the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers’ home opener featured starting pitchers Chad Billingsley and Randy Johnson, with the latter 45 years old and only managing to pitch 3.2 innings. Hudson began his big day with an innocent infield single that didn’t amount to anything as Johnson tossed a scoreless first inning.
Hudson then got the Dodgers on the board in the third with a solo home run to left field. With the Dodgers holding a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning, Hudson added to it with an RBI double.
Needing arguably the most difficult hit of the cycle — a triple — Hudson hit a line drive down the right field line. With Randy Winn, not the most fleet of foot, playing right, Hudson turned on the speed and went head-first into third base, just beating Pablo Sandoval’s tag.
Hudson became the first Dodgers player since Wes Parker in 1970 to hit for the cycle. Hudson was the last Dodger to accomplish the feat until Cody Bellinger did so at Marlins Park in 2017. Bellinger became the first rookie in Dodgers franchise history to hit for the cycle.
“I’ve done a lot of things in Little League and high school and a lot of leagues, but this definitely ranks No. 1,” Hudson said after his milestone with the Dodgers. “This is special. This is more than an All-Star Game. This means a lot.”
A total of 10 players have hit for the cycle in Dodgers history.
Aaron Harang strikes out nine in a row
On April 13, 2012, a cold and rainy day in Los Angeles gave way to Aaron Harang making history at Dodger Stadium. After Cameron Maybin started the game with a single, the right-hander struck out the next nine Padres batters faced.
Harang broke Jonny Podres’ franchise record of eight consecutive strikeouts and fell one short of tying the MLB mark set by Tom Seaver in 1970. Harang’s streak was snapped by a Will Venable leadoff home run in the fourth inning.
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